Out & About: An evening with Caudalie

My new routine of Tuesdays off started with a rather lovely party hosted by Sasha Wilkins and French cosmetic brand Caudalie, held in the Soho Hotel. I won my two invites in a competition held by LibertyLondonGirl and it seemed like the perfect thing to do on my first indulgent/relaxing/creative day off. Being a fellow Kit Kemp fan, I naturally gave my other invite to my friend Sam Lennie.

The other guests were mainly friends of Sasha’s and were an inspiring group of women working in creative industries including fashion, PR and writing. Guess which two were stood in the corner extolling Kemp’s genius little touches of turning the lampshades upside down? (It always surprises me how other people can walk into a room and not immediately start analysing every square inch of their surroundings, especially an interesting room such as those in the Soho Hotel. I often find myself entirely distracted from conversation in wondering how curtains are strung and other things that are mundane to almost everyone else in the world. I guess other people are like that about clothes or cards or buildings.)

Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of the event itself but it was resolutely French themed. We had macaroons, tiny pastries and even a French themed photo booth from Say Fromage which was brilliant fun. I would have one of these at my wedding if we had room. We each had a facial each and drank some very nice wine from the Château Smith Haut-Lafitte vineyard.

The event was held to celebrate Caudalie’s luxurious Premier Cru face cream and eye cream. I have read a lot about this range and have wanted to try it for a while but the £92.50 price tag for the face cream is prohibitive for me. I do however use a lot of Caudalie’s more modestly priced products – I am addicted to their Beauty Elixir which I’ve been using for years. I only buy beauty products that are more or less natural and Caudalie fits the bill perfectly. I tend to stock up on their products whenever I go to France as their perfect pharmacies stock a much larger range than my usual haunt, Space NK.

I really like Caudalie. They are an environmentally responsible, natural brand who care about the impact they have on the world around them. The Premier Cru bottles are revolutionary in that the entire bottle can be dismantled at home and split between your glass and plastic recycling bins. I had no idea before the party that the cosmetics are by-products of founder Mathilde Thomas-Cathiard’s family winemaking business at Château Smith Haut-Lafitte. The products are made using the stalks of the vines and the grape skins which are packed full of powerful antioxidants.

We came away from the party with some Premier Cru face cream and eye cream. Being give some luxurious cosmetics from one of my favourite brands six weeks before I get married was very welcome indeed. I’ve been using them for two weeks now and my skin feels soft and supple and pampered. It’s a bit early to tell how much difference they make, but the creams are soft and creamy and absorb brilliantly. The eye cream in particular goes a long way and although it is expensive at £49, I think it will last a good few months.

Caudalie also gave us a vine from the vineyard which I was rather delighted with. It’s already started growing and who knows, in a few years I might have my own balcony cosmetic company. Thank you so much to the very lovely Sasha and the nice people at Caudalie, I had a great time